


Love Enough

by Faircheallaigh



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Closeted Character, Coming Out, Coming of Age, Denial of Feelings, Hate to Love, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-08 02:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8825863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faircheallaigh/pseuds/Faircheallaigh
Summary: "There is love enough in this world for everybody, if people will just look." -Kurt VonnegutAlbus hates Scorpius, but he doesn't know why. Scorpius lost his mother and is kind of a jerk. They find themselves, and eventually each other.





	1. ūnus

A small, thin boy with a pointed chin sits at the edge of a massive black bed clutching a bony, limp hand. The boy’s gray eyes are wide and without tears. The rest of the body lying on the massive bed is engulfed in black blankets and is still.

 The child refuses to cry. He sits there and stares at the closed eyes and peaceful expression on the face of a woman who must have once been very beautiful. Now, however, the corpse’s face is drawn and sallow.

 “My precious boy,” she had coughed hollowly just minutes prior, “whatever you do, promise me…” She stopped for a while and tried to gather some strength. “Promise you’ll watch over your father.” Her grip had tightened as much as it could on the boy’s hand as doe-brown eyes peered at her son with a rueful acceptance. “And that you’ll be _happy_ in life.”

 Gray eyes had stared into brown for a few seconds longer, not wanting to voice a spoken goodbye. She had closed her eyes and turned her head until it was facing straight ahead. The boy had clutched his mother’s hand tightly and watched the rise and fall of her chest until it become slower, and slower, and slower—until it finally stopped altogether and the lines between her eyes had relaxed.

 She had been dead for around five minutes now but the boy still does not let go of his mother’s hand. He knows as soon as he does she’ll be taken away. His chest is tight and he feels as if his whole world has just collapsed around him. He has no idea what to do now.

 He sits and thinks, _“My mother is dead.”_ The words do not register in him, though. He can’t believe it just yet and believes he must be in a dream. His thin body shakes uncontrollably, but he still does not cry.

 He hardly registers as the man who had been standing behind him in the corner approaches and places a hand on his shoulder. “It’s time we let her go.” The man tries to say it forcefully but his voice quakes.

The boy hardly hears his father speak but allows the older man to force him to stand up. His father steers him out, and the last thing the boy sees is the cold hand that he will never hold again.

* * *

 

A few months later a different boy is joined by his massive family on a bustling train platform.

 “Ro-o-ose,” he whines pitifully at a girl with bushy red hair. “Give me back my puking pastilles. I need those! Uncle George gave those to me just a few days ago!”

 His cousin shakes her head and scrunches up her nose but laughs all the same. “Albus, we’re not even on the train yet and you’re already thinking about how to get out of class? That’s pathetic, honestly.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “Anyway, you’ll never find out where I put them,” she boasts.

 The boy with messy black hair rolls his eyes as he leans onto the cart that is carrying his luggage. “Come on, going to _every_ class is just…not necessary.”

 “You’re so intelligent, Al. Imagine how well you’d do if you just applied yourself.” She speaks with a huff that can only mean they’d had this conversation plenty of times before. “Come on, let’s say our goodbyes and get on the train.” They approach the group of older witches and wizards and hear a murmured conversation.

 

“ _Still wearing all black…”_

_“…strange not to see Astoria with them.”_

_“Poor boy, without a mother…”_

Albus rolls his eyes as he interrupts them. “If you’re talking about Scorpius Malfoy, he’s a real prat.” Albus’s mother glares at him.

 “I don’t care if he _is_ a prat, Albus Severus Potter. His mother _died_ over the summer. Can’t you show a little sympathy?” Albus flushed as he avoided his mother’s harsh gaze and the raised eyebrows of even Rose.

 The boy coughed while looking at his shoes. “So…where’s Lils and Jamie?” Harry Potter came and put a hand on his middle child’s shoulder with a smile.

 “Already on the train. They ran off as soon as we got here to catch up with friends. Quite the socialites.” The man shook his head in mock-disbelief. “I thought they would stay here to tell us goodbye! I guess you’ll have to do,” the man teased, then gave the boy a large hug and kiss on the head with his wife doing the same a moment later.

 “Mum, Dad,” he whined as he tried to squirm away from their affection, obviously embarrassed. He looked around to make sure none of his dorm mates saw. “Have to go! Rose and I’ll miss the train,” he said, pretending to look at a nonexistent watch on his wrist.

 Albus grabbed his trolley and waited for his cousin to finish saying goodbye to his Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. “Took you long enough!”

 She gave him an incredulous look. “Not all of us feel embarrassed about giving our parents a hug. You shouldn’t even judge me after what you said about Malfoy. I know you don’t like him, but that was rude even for you.”

 “But he _is_ a prick. You know how much I don’t like him. I mean, yeah, it’s too bad his mum died but that doesn’t excuse how arrogant he is. You haven’t shared a room with him for three whole years. He’s colder than the damn dungeons!”

“Well, I thought as a Slytherin you’d be used to a little chilliness,” she teased, though obviously still put-off by the blatant lack of sympathy.

 “Can we just drop it, Rose? Even talking about him puts me in a bad mood.” Albus Potter scowled. “We’re about to go back to Hogwarts, one of the best places in the world, and I don’t want to be in a bad mood.”

 Rose looked at him skeptically, obviously wanting to press the issue further, but just flipped her curls over her shoulder and bit her tongue. The last thing she wanted was to start the school year off on bad terms with her best friend.

 They pushed their trolleys to where a few parents were volunteering to load students’ luggage on the train with a quick _mobiliarbus_ charm. With a grateful, “Thank you!” the pair of fourteen-year-olds were boarding the Hogwarts Express to begin another year.


	2. duo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Albus's friends!

“Albus,” Rose whispered as she pushed on her cousin’s shoulder. “Al, wake up!”

 “ _Hngh?”_ the teenager groaned as his eyes opened slowly. “Whadya want? I was sleeping.” He pushed himself up from the uncomfortable position he had somehow managed to fall asleep in against the window. He rolled his neck and stretched his arms over his head.

 “We’re almost here, idiot.” Rose combed her hands through her wild hair in an attempt to tame it even slightly. It was a trait she shared with her cousin. She then uncurled her legs out from under her and closed the book she was reading, _The Development of Charms in the Fourth Century._

“Good thing I put on my robes a while ago,” Albus smiled as he stood up when he felt the train slow to a stop. “Let’s go, I want to get into one of the first carriages.” He flashed a dangerous smile. “Maybe scare some poor first years while I’m at it.”

 “Scare them?” Rose scoffed. “The ones that grew up in the wizarding world will be more awestruck than anything.”

 They grabbed the few pieces of luggage they had kept with them and headed out of the train. Rose nudged his shoulder right after they stepped outside. “Look at Malfoy.”

 Albus didn’t have to look long until he found the shock of white-blond hair. Scorpius Malfoy had shot up several inches over the summer and finally looked less like a small child and more like a lanky teenager. He was facing towards the carriages, with a stance that seemed defensive. Albus watched him stand there unmoving.

 “What’s he looking at?” Albus asked, genuinely curious but with a biting tone nonetheless.

 “Thestrals,” Rose replied softly while also watching Scorpius. “I remember Hagrid telling us about them last year.”

 “He can see them?” Albus asked incredulously.

 “He must have watched his mother die.” Rose’s expression spoke of pity. Albus ignored the uncomfortable guilt that knotted in his stomach and scoffed rudely.

 “Well he looks like an idiot just standing there gawping.” Even though Albus’s tone was rude, it seemed to Rose like her cousin was just shocked at the revelation of a classmate having seen death.

 “Come on, let’s hurry and get inside. It’s chilly for September.” They walked to a carriage that was almost full. Albus turned back to look at Scorpius’s face and noticed the sallow face of someone who hadn’t slept for a long time. Albus shook his head and put the thoughts out of his head.

 “Jeremiah, Robert, Emiliana!” Albus exclaimed once he saw who was already occupying the coach. Albus’s three housemates all exclaimed once they saw their friend.

 “I didn’t know I’d be in the snake pit,” Rose teased.

 “Silly Gryffindor,” Emiliana Zabini smirked, “jumps in a situation without even looking.” The two girls began talking quietly about their summers. Emilia described visiting her grandparents in Italy and Rose about staying with her muggle grandparents for a few weeks.

 The boys listened to their conversation for a few minutes before turning towards each other to discuss the upcoming Quidditch season. “Damn, Albus. Been working out?” Jeremiah Clayton asked making mock-poses with his arms.

 “Been exercising and practicing all summer. I think I’m gonna try out for beater. Geoffrey Jones graduated and left Terrance O’Hannigan all by himself.” Albus grinned with pride of someone noticing his hard work.

 The rest of the ride up to Hogwarts passed by smoothly with the group of friends chattering away. Soon they arrived at the school and were welcomed into the warm Great Hall. Four of them walked off to join their house and waved goodbye to Rose who went to sit with her friends in Gryffindor.

 They sat down at the long table filled with students dressed in green and silver. “Oi, look!” Jeremiah called and pointed to a young boy standing with the other first years, waiting anxiously to be sorted. “There’s my little brother!”

 “Think he’ll join us here?” Robert asked. Jeremiah shook his head violently.

 “ _My_ little brother? Rob, you’ve met him. He’s a Hufflepuff if I’ve ever seen one.” Robert thought for a second and nodded in agreement.

 Soon the Sorting Ceremony began, with the tattered Sorting Hat singing its annual song. Near the beginning, the three fourth years listened intently until “ _Clayton, Brian,”_ was called and, as predicted, sorted into Hufflepuff as soon as the hat touched his head. After that, they didn’t know anyone else who was being sorted. They cheered for all of the new students sorted into Slytherin, but were mostly distracted by the thought of the first feast of the term.

 After the ceremony was done and the food was about to appear, Emiliana stood up before declaring, “I’m going to go eat with Scorpius.” She glanced over to where he had been sitting at the end of the table away from everyone else.

 “Why would you do that?” Albus asked, flabbergasted. Jeremiah and Robert just shrugged and kept on eating.

 “What do you mean? We’ve been friends since we were in diapers. You know that.” She rolled her brown eyes. “He’s had a terrible summer, as you can imagine, and he looks like he hasn’t eaten in a month. Someone has to make sure he doesn’t starve himself to death.”

 “See you in the common room, then,” Robert said, as he smiled. “I’ll be waiting with my chess board. I think I can finally beat you,” Emiliana grinned at him and playfully whacked him on the head as she sauntered off.

 “How are you all okay with this?” Albus asked, pushing away his plate. Robert and Jeremiah looked at him, obviously confused.

 “With what?” Jeremiah asked, shoving pie on to his plate just as the dessert appeared.

 “Emiliana hanging out with Malfoy.”

 “Her dad and Malfoy’s dad are friends, so it makes sense. I mean, he’s not my favorite person. He’s pretty arrogant, but then again, so are you. Acts smarter than us as well, but, so does Rose. Could be worse.” Jeremiah shrugged and Robert nodded his head in agreement.  “Why do you hate him, anyway?”

Albus was, at this point, visibly seething. “He just gets under my damn skin. He’s only ever said a few words to me and it was always something trying to make him appear better than me. Bragging about his potions marks or the gift his father bought him. I don’t know why; I just know I hate him.” Albus made a face.

 Robert starting laughing. “I think you’re jealous that girls find him attractive and you think he’s competition.”

 Albus’s face turned red and he clenched his fists. He didn’t even eat a piece of his favorite cake—courgette and lime. He just stared at it until Robert and Jeremiah changed the subject.

 For some reason, he just couldn’t shake his bad mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if that was a boring chapter, I promise you'll see interactions between Albus and Scorpius soon enough. I just felt like it needed more background information and more characters before delving into the plot. 
> 
> I know Albus is a complete jerk, but he's just a confused, hormonal, 14 year old boy and it will change. ((hehe it'll buff))
> 
> PLEASE let me know if something seems off, or weird, or there's something completely irrelevant thrown in there, or there's a grammar/spelling mistake. I'm just going with the flow and only have a vague plan on where I'm going with this, so...
> 
> Two chapters in two days is rare, but I don't start work again until Saturday so I have a lot of free time!
> 
> Also; I had to put courgette and lime cake in there because I'm craving that SO MUCH.
> 
>  
> 
> Is approx. 1000 words per chapter enough?


	3. trēs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Potions leads to a short interaction between Albus and Scorpius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief harsh language, if anyone cares about that.

It was now the 5th of November. The days were shorter, nights colder, and students had settled into their new schedules; and, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy had settled into _their own_ schedules of avoiding each other.

 They never spoke. Never sat by each other in class, never spoke in the dorm, ate at different ends of the table. This was more about Albus’s hatred for Scorpius. Scorpius was more focused on schoolwork and being a “cocky git,” as Albus put it than on animosity for the middle Potter child.

 The only connection they had was the sharing of Emiliana Zabini, who adamantly refused to stop talking to Scorpius. Albus had been angry for a few weeks and refused to look at Emiliana.

 “He should have fucking been a Gryffindor…damn hot-headed bastard,” Robert heard her curse while they played their nightly chess game. “I just _do not_ understand his problem! Scorpius has a great, albeit weird, sense of humor once you get to know him. And don’t tell anyone I’ve spoken like this! I can hear my parents now, ‘ _That language is not befitting for a young witch!’_ Bah!”

 Robert honestly didn’t care if Scorpius was funny or if Albus was a bastard—he just couldn’t keep his eyes off of Emiliana’s mocha skin or her perfect teeth or the way she would speak in Italian when sleep deprived. Robert Jackson was in love.

 Sometimes he felt a little jealous of the comfortable way she acted around Scorpius, but had Scorpius ever beaten her in chess like he had? Robert figured not and always looked forward to the time he was able to spend with Emiliana every night. She didn’t have private time with Scorpius every single day, so Robert tolerated the friendship with the blond.

Life had settled into a good routine.  
That is, until Albus got paired with Scorpius on a potions assignment.

 The elderly Professor Slughorn had decided to partner the students up instead of letting the teenagers pick for themselves. This had elicited a collective groan from the class, but the old potions master either didn’t hear or ignored it.

 “Weasley and Bobbin,” he called out. Rose, who had been sitting by her cousin since their houses had the class together, stood up.

 “Thank Merlin he gave me an alright partner. Esther Bobbin’s family owns apothecaries so I’m hopeful she’ll be good.” Rose grabbed her books and went to sit by perky blonde Gryffindor.

 Albus frowned as he watched Rose leave. A small part of him hoped that Slughorn would have paired him and Rose together since the professor had adored both Aunt Hermione and his dad. He sat there quietly until Slughorn called his name.

 “Malfoy and Potter,” Slughorn said and peered at the two boys. The rest of the class went silent and turned to face the two students. Albus’s hatred was no secret, and the students were anxious to see what would happen.

 “Just my luck,” Albus grumbled as he frowned at where Rose was sitting. Rose looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He couldn’t help feeling that Slughorn had done this to torture him. His own head of house must have known how terrible the situation would turn out. Albus thought of all the ways in his head he could curse Slughorn.

 A book slammed down to his right and unconsciously made Albus jump.

 “I know you are rubbish at Potions, but I, however, am very good at it. I want good marks, especially in this class. That doesn’t mean you’re going to let me do all of this by myself and that doesn’t mean you can just half arse it. Understand?” The tow-headed teenager drawled, narrowing his eyes at Albus.

 Albus glared back. Anger ran red-hot through his veins, as well as the humiliation of being talked down to in front of everyone. “How would you even know if I’m bad at potions or not?” he spat, then internally winced. Not a very good comeback.

 Scorpius rolled his grey eyes. “Please, I see you and Weasley working together. She does most everything. You wouldn’t know the difference between chopping and slicing leeches.”

 Albus was about to start making an even bigger scene by throwing a punch right in the other boy’s jaw, but Slughorn had the sense to get the class’s attention first and just gave a sharp look to the pair.

 “The potion you’ll be making is a very difficult one usually made by fifth years. However, I believe you will have success.” He paused to think and stroked his mustache. “Some of you, at least.” He then walked over to an old blackboard and began writing three words, _Draught of Peace._

He turned back around to the class. “This assignment is not just making the potion, oh no, it will also require you to use your skill to find out the ingredients, instructions, and history of this particular draught. I want an eight-page paper detailing the books you found the information in and everything you learned about it. It will be in due in two weeks, so get busy right away.”

 Slughorn then walked over to his desk to sit down and rest his knees as he waved his hand in his way of dismissing the class. Albus jumped up immediately to talk to him, and also to avoid having to talk to Scorpius any more that day. A few sentences of interaction were enough to ruin his day.

 “Sir, is there any way I could switch partners? Please, Professor Slughorn. We won’t work well together,” he pleaded to the large man. Slughorn stared up at him.

 “You have your father’s eyes, boy. Funny, I used to tell _your_ father that he had _his_ mother’s eyes.” The man laughed deeply. “How time passes but some things stay the same.”

 “Err…alright, sir, but about my request to switch partners?” Albus stared at the man as if he had lost his mind. Which was quite possible, considering how old the potions master was.

 Slughorn’s expression suddenly turned serious. “Oh, no, that can’t be done. Then I’d have to allow anyone to switch and there would be no point in making the pairings myself, hm? Now off you go, let me rest before I have the seventh year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. Exhausting bunch.”

 Albus slouched back to his table to grab his books, sighing deeply, but was slightly relieved to see that Scorpius had already left.

 “My dear boy, don’t sulk. It’s not becoming of you!” Albus heard Slughorn call while he was halfway out the door.

 Albus pretended not to hear him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I decided to pretend Slughorn was still there because he's such a fun character, and added that brief thing about Emiliana and Robert. I don't know why, it just wrote itself that way. I'm slowly adding more characters and I have an idea for next chapter, so...
> 
> I also felt motivated to write because I went to see Fantastic Beasts this morning (and it was amazing), and I got a new book about the philosophy of the Harry Potter books! Really really really great book so far, I totally recommend it if you like philosophy. 
> 
> As always, let me know if something is poorly worded, or misspelled, or whatever.
> 
> And THANK YOU to everyone that left kudos and/or commented it motivates so much to write more!


	4. quattuor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A spat, a problem, a small step in the right direction.

Rose was waiting for Albus right outside the door.

 “Merlin’s beard! I _cannot_ believe Slughorn did that, except that it makes total sense why he did!” she exclaimed, eyes wide.

 “What do you mean? You know why he paired us?” Albus looked at her as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner. He was still angry, but being around Rose always made him feel a bit better. She was the eye of the hurricane in any situation—the calming force for a little bit, but as soon as she left it was chaos again.

 “Well, not precisely why he paired you two specifically together. Mum told me all about his Slug Club when he was their professor, and even when your dad’s mum was here at Hogwarts. He would invite all the students coming from the famous or those that seemed like they had potential to join.”

 “So what does that mean?” Albus asked, getting the general idea of what Rose was saying but wanting further clarification anyway.

 “You’re the _son of Harry Potter._ One of his star students. Scorpius is the son of an ex-Death Eater and, even though I loath to admit it, excellent at Potions. Albus, you really are rubbish at this subject.” She threw her hands up in mock surrender as Albus scowled at her. “I just speak the truth! Slughorn probably also doesn’t want the son of his star student to fail, so he’s killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.”

 “That’s probably why he paired you with Esther Bobbins. I wish _I_ had gotten paired with Esther Bobbins, if you get what I mean.” He smirked devilishly.

 “Pig.” Rose hit him with her book. “I’m going to go sit by her right now, actually, but don’t even think about following. We’re discussing the assignment.” She started walking off toward the Gryffindor Table, but turned around for a moment. “If you care about your marks, you’ll do the same.”

 “As if!” Albus scoffed and went to take his normal place at the Slytherin table. He noted a slight change in the seating. Jeremiah was sitting across from Robert, who in turn was sitting unusually close to Emiliana.

 “Can you believe this?” Albus asked. “This is a bloody nightmare!”

 Emiliana rolled her eyes as she scoffed loudly. “Stop being such a baby, Albus. It’s pathetic and annoying.”

Albus narrowed his eyes at the girl. “You wouldn’t understand. He’s a monster! Did you hear what he said to me in class? How can you even defend him, _Em_?”

 Emiliana bristled at the use of a nickname Albus knew she despised. “Really, _Al?_ How could he not defend himself after how annoyed you were? You didn’t even try to keep a façade in front of everyone, so why shouldn’t he do the same?”

 Albus groaned. “Just shut up. You’ve been brainwashed by him. Am I right?” Albus turned to the other boys who had been sitting quietly while trying to ignore the bickering.

 Jeremiah kept on eating, his head down. “We don’t wanna pick sides, mate. Keep it between yourselves.”

 “Great to see no one is on my side.” Albus stood up abruptly. “Just because she’s pretty doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with her.” He flashed a rude smile to the group and sauntered off. Behind him, Emiliana was fuming with Robert trying, to no avail, to comfort her. Jeremiah stared at the retreating figure of his friend with an open mouth.

 “What in Merlin’s beard is going on?” the curly-haired boy wondered aloud.

* * *

 

 Albus walked away angrily and consumed in his own thoughts. He was so self-absorbed he hadn’t even realized where he was until he came upon the library. _It must be a sign_ , he thought. _I may be rubbish at potions but it doesn’t take a genius to look in a book._

 Inside, he began looking for volumes that could help. _Benevolent Potions: Medieval to Modern, Properties of Common Ingredients,_ and _Differences Between Draughts, Elixirs, and More_ were the largest texts splayed out over the large wooden table.

 Albus had several spread out and wrote on a scratch piece of paper various tidbits of information that could be useful in the descriptive part of the assignment. There was no organization to the parchment, just random words written at various angles.

 He finally found the list of ingredients needed for that particular potion:

  * Powdered moonstone
  * Syrup of Hellebore
  * Powdered porcupine quills
  * Powdered unicorn horn



 

Albus breathed out a sigh. He was glad he found the list, but he quickly realized that there was no amount given for any of the ingredients. He checked in some other books that contained the potion but found no amounts anywhere.

 He realized that he would, in fact, have to talk to Scorpius Malfoy to complete this project. He also realized that there was a good possibility that Scorpius had already heard from Emiliana about his outburst at dinner.

 Albus knew that Scorpius couldn’t refuse to work with him. Scorpius had even said in class that his marks were important to him and he didn’t want to do all of the work himself. Albus was terrible at the subject but he didn’t want to get T on his O.W.L’s next year.

 He decided he’d try his luck and attempt to locate the blond, but was holding his wand at his side in case anyone wanted to hex him for being such an arse to Emiliana.

 Eventually he made his way to the dungeons and after speaking the password was led down the familiar corridor to the common room. As soon as students looked up to see who it was they frowned, or even outright glared, at him.

 Emiliana was the most popular girl of the house. Everyone from first- to seventh-years adored her. There was a rumor going around for a while that she was part Veela, because she was beautiful and endearing, but she quickly put the claim to rest.

 Albus was more revered from a distance for being charming with a wicked temper, but not adored on a personal level like Emiliana, which was why he was getting glares.

 Instead of trying to explain himself, he ignored the stares and headed up the stairs to the fourth-year boys’ dormitory.

 For once, his luck was alright. The dorm was all but empty, with just the person he was seeking laying on a bed while reading a book.

 “Malfoy, we have a problem with Slughorn’s assignment,” he called while walking to the other teenager. Scorpius stared at him coolly, which was normal, and meant Emiliana hadn’t talked to the boy yet.

 “Hmm?” The blond kept reading his book, obviously thinking it was more important than what Albus Potter had to say.

 “I was in the library—”

 “A Potter in a library? _Willingly?”_ Scorpius sneered, but his eyebrows were raised and was pleasantly surprised. Not that he’d ever admit it.

 Albus frowned and crossed his arms over his chest after he set a pile of books on Scorpius’s bed. “Fine. I’ll just let _you_ figure out what’s wrong, since you’re such a bloody genius.” With a huff, Albus stormed away to find his friends to apologize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that took longer than I expected to get out and it's not even that great but OH WELL. The holidays are a busy, busy, busy time. Plus it started snowing a few days ago!! 
> 
> Anyway, a little bit more interaction between the two. I have a tiny, slightly better idea on where I'm going with this but not totally. I'm just typing and seeing what happens!
> 
> As always, please notify me of any problems, mistakes, etc. and I love seeing comments! 
> 
>  
> 
> also; Happy Holidays!! Whatever you celebrate, I hope you have an amazing time filled with friends, family, fun, and food. 
> 
> What's your favorite thing about the holiday season? I think mine is seeing all the lights and listening to Christmas music.


	5. quinque

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Albus doth protest too much, methinks.

 

“Emiliana, I’m sorry. Really, truly, _deeply_ sorry to have hurt the feelings of one of my closest friends in the whole world. Not just my friend—my _Slytherin soul sister._ The girl who took me under her wing when I was scared and alone after being sorted into the snake pit. You pitied me once, right? Pity me again! Oh, Emiliana Drusilla Zabini, will you take my hand…in forgiveness?”

 

Albus threw himself at the feet of the pissed off teenage girl. He was on one knee, holding a large box of chocolate cauldrons in one hand and a bunch of sugar quills in the other.

 

“You’re pathetic,” she sneered. Her nose was in the air and her posture was exemplary. Not a good sign. Robert and Jeremiah were standing a few yards back from her. Their arms were crossed over their chests and had they been taller and wider, would have been a considerable pair of bodyguards.

 

“Get up off the ground. You look ridiculous,” she sniffed sharply but narrowed her eyes at the sweets. “Where’d you get those in such a short amount of time?”

 

Albus stood up slowly. “I searched out _all my cousins_ , of which there are a lot if you’d remember, to see if any of them had chocolate cauldrons I could buy. Thankfully, my lovely baby sister had an unopened package. She gave them to me quite quickly when I told her that you said you were ‘cramping like a bitch’ this morni—”

 

“That’s enough, Albus.” She put up a well-manicured hand. “Give me the chocolates. And the quills.”

 

Albus handed them over with a smile, viewing it as a good sign that his friend was taking the candy. “Thank you for forgiving me, my beautiful, charming, devious friend,” he gushed. Albus didn’t notice the way Robert twitched at the adorations.

 

She grabbed the sweets and began to walk away before turning around. “Oh, and Albus?”

 

“Yes?”  


“You may want to wait to thank me until _after,”_ she smirked with a gleam in her eyes. “It’s the only reason I’m actually forgiving you. You’ll find out soon enough. But thank you for the chocolate. Oh, and I _adored_ hearing you lavish me in praises, you should make that a regular occurrence.” She walked to her room with a newfound bounce in her step as she unwrapped the gifted sweets.

 

Albus stared at where Emiliana had disappeared. “After what? What does that mean?” He asked, his mouth falling slowly from the smile. The boy got a sudden feeling of dread that dropped to the pit of his stomach. Albus whipped around to his two friends. “What’d she do?”

 

Robert stared at him.  “I dunno, but you pissed her off something bad,” he snapped. Jeremiah nodded in agreement.

 

“I think you’ll deserve it, whatever it is.”

 

Albus groaned. “Rob, Jerry, I apologized. Can we skip to the part where you forgive me and we play some Exploding Snap? Gobstones? Talk about girls? Lena Mahoney is really fit. Jerry, why don’t you talk to her sometime. She’d go for you, strapping young man that you are. I’ll have Rose talk to her for you!”

 

Jeremiah gave his friend a look before throwing his hands up in the air. “Forget about Lena Mahoney, I’ll forgive you if shut up for five minutes! Your voice is giving me a damn headache.”

 

“That’s the spirit, Jerry!” Albus said cheerfully and came over to clap the boy on the back. “Robert, bruv, what do you wanna do while this old man rests for his ‘headache’?”

 

“Er, I was just going to wait for Emiliana to come down so we could play chess. Sorry.” Robert rubbed the back of his neck and gave an apologetic look to Albus.

 

“What? I didn’t know you played chess.” Albus narrowed his eyes at Robert who stared back at him, not knowing if his raven-haired friend was serious or not.

 

“Uh,” Robert started before Jeremiah cut him off.

 

“Merlin, Al. Are you really that self-involved to not notice Emiliana and Rob playing chess together _every night_ for the past two months?” Jeremiah sat down on one of the green velvet chairs by the fireplace and shook his head.

 

Albus looked between the two boys. “…No?”

 

Jeremiah spoke up from where he was sitting after sighing loudly. “What the hell? You’re so obsessed with Malfoy that you don’t notice anything _but_ Malfoy. You’re troubled—raving mad. No doubt about it. If you weren’t so unnecessarily hateful, I’d say you _fancied him_ or something.” He set his head against the back of the chair and closed his eyes while chuckling.

 

“ _What?!”_ Albus hissed. “That’s how rumours get started, Jerry. Keep your bloody voice down! And how could you even _think_ I’d ever be,” Albus looked around frantically to see if anyone was listening, “ _gay.”_

Robert grinned. “Y’know, Terrance O’Hannigan is really fit _and_ your beater-in-crime on the pitch. You spend a lot of time together… Maybe after next practice you could ask him to Hogsmeade,” the boy teased lightheartedly.

 

Albus stood up abruptly, not wanting to hear anymore nonsense. His face was turning red and his fists were clenched at his sides. “I swear, if wake up tomorrow and everyone’s pointing and staring at me I’ll know exactly who to blame! I’ll hex you straight to the St. Mungo’s!” He walked off quickly, but before he got too far away he turned around and yelled, “Don’t test me!”

 

Albus’s nervous shouting caused the few students left in the common room to look up from studying, or games, or snogging in a corner and glaring at him for interrupting a quiet evening for the thousandth time. Robert started laughing before sitting next to Jeremiah. “Godric, Albus can be so sensitive at times.”

 

“Eh, we don’t tease him more than he teases us. I don’t really feel bad.” Jeremiah shrugged before continuing, “He can dish it but he can’t take it.”

 

Robert nodded in agreement before something—no that _couldn’t be it_ —clicked in his brain. He ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair and furrowed his brow. Could that be it? He shook his head as if trying to clear out the thoughts. It was a miniscule possibility, but Robert’s interest was piqued.  

 

A few minutes later they almost started crying from laughter when, all the way from their dormitory, they heard yelled, “ _DON’T EVEN LOOK AT ME, MALFOY.”_

Robert grinned suspiciously. Oh yes, he was going to watch, wait, and maybe do some Slytherin meddling from the sidelines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! 
> 
> I've been sick, celebrated holidays, and been out of town. But here we go, it's up. I'm still just winging it and having fun.
> 
> I greatly enjoy comments so lemme know what you think :)
> 
> Also; I finally settled on a profile pic that's heavily filtered because I'm paranoid and I felt strange with no picture??? Not that it matters to any of you, I just like hearing myself talk...er...seeing myself type? Amazing the stuff I stress about lol


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